Scorpius' Sorting
by Pleine Lune
Summary: "Collecting himself, Scorpius decided he may as well get it over with. Trying to keep himself from shaking, although his heart was beating at an abnormal rate, he sat slowly onto the stood as the Headmistress placed the Sorting Hat on his head."


Breathe in, and out.

In

Out

Scorpius Malfoy was trying desperately to control his breathing as he was lead with the other first years through the main doors of Hogwarts. Surrounding him were over-excited, and also very nervous, children his age. The ones most hysterical were the muggle-borns, naturally.

Given that it was September, the early nights were very dark and cold. This only added to the nervousness and dread each and every first year was experiencing.

Although the insides of Hogwarts were much warmer than the outsides, he couldn't help to continue to shiver. Scorpius always was a nervous person, always anticipating the worst in every single situation. He was quiet, never really wanting to associate with anyone, particularly those who were obnoxious and loud.

Habitually, he was biting his fingernails, a habit he possessed for as long as he could remember. His mind went directly to his parents the night before, who reassured him that they wouldn't mind which ever house he was put in. He even overheard his father talking with his mother that he secretly hoped that Scorpius wasn't placed in Slytherin. To break the long traditions of the Malfoy's, and to give them a new light to those still sceptical of the Pureblood family.

But it wasn't his parent's he was worried about, it was his grandfather, Lucius.

A celebratory dinner was held when Scorpius received his Hogwarts letter a few months ago. Family and friends (whatever left the Malfoy's had) were invited, and later that same evening Lucius pulled his grandson aside.

"Now, Scorpius. I know your foolish father has gone soft, not caring if you aren't placed in Slytherin. But I do. It is where we Malfoy's belong, and you don't want to disappoint me, do you Scorpius?"

Scorpius stood nervously infront of his grandfather, eyes not meeting his once.

"N-no, grandf-father." Scorpius muttered nervously, which was responded with a scoff.

"And that stutter of yours, should have been beaten out of you a long time ago. You'll be a laughing stock at Hogwarts," Lucius remarked, and walked away, leaving his grandson to tear up.

His stutter.

The one that his grandfather always seemed to tease him for. And when confronted by Draco, Lucius always responded with, "If we ridicule him for it, he'll stop eventually."

Only it didn't. And it wouldn't.

It was one of those things magic just couldn't fix. A doctor comes around to his house a few times a month to give him speech therapy. And it did help, not only was he able to speak a little more clearly, but he was also taught to accept himself for who he was. And it worked for a while, but his grandfather always seemed to pull him back down again.

Scorpius was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of Professor Longbottom, trying to receive the children's attention.

"Attention, please children," he announced with authority. Scorpius noticed he was standing in front of large, ancient double doors, no doubt leading to the Great Hall.

"My name is Professor Longbottom. Now, before we enter, there are some things I should cover with you first. When you name is called, you will walk up to me, and the sorting hat will be placed on your head. Once you are sorted, you will make your way to whichever house you are placed into, be it Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin. There, you will be greeted by the head of house, and you will be seated. Does anyone have any questions?"

The group of first years was silent, aside from the varies whispers of excitement.

"Okay, then. Follow me, please." On cue, the double doors opened to reveal the great hall. Several long dining tables were flooded with students, who all turned their heads at the sound of the doors opening. Scorpius gasped quietly, as he took in his surroundings. His parents had told him of Hogwarts, so he knew what to expect. He had seen photos, read about it in books, but nothing did it justice. His eyes were immediately drawn to the celling, a realistic view of the night sky. Scorpius briefly remembers reading how this was done in one of his books, something about bewitchment. But he couldn't believe how beautiful and realistic it looked in real life.

Scorpius was suddenly aware of the other Hogwarts students, looking at them with curiosity and bemusement as they walked up the pathway leading to the sorting hat. He immediately focused on the ground, as to not make any awkward eye contact with the older students. It wasn't long before they reached the end of the Great Hall, but to Scorpius it felt like a life time. They were greeted by none other than Head Mistress McGonagall, who stood next to a wooden stool, with the sorting hat on top.

"Now, when I call your name, sit on the stool and the sorting hat will be placed on your head,"

Scorpius felt very nervous. He looked past some of the other first years to the Slytherin table, who were eagerly awaiting any new coming members.

"Addams, Melissa," a short, chubby girl with dark brown hair and a pretty face stepped up, seating herself on the stool. After a few moments, the Sorting Hat had made up it's mind, bellowing very loudly, "Gryffindor!" The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers, congratulating and welcoming their new member. Scorpius bit his lip, realising that no matter what house he was sorted into, that he probably won't be welcomed nearly as well.

Name by name, students were called up to be sorted. It wasn't until "Lyons, Andrew" was called did Scorpius pay attention. They were on "L" already? After a few moments of waiting, which went by far too quickly for Scorpius' liking, did the Sorting Hat yell, "Ravenclaw!" After, waiting for the new Ravenclaw member to be seated, Headmistress McGonagall called out, "Malfoy, Scorpius"

Oh no.

Scorpius could fell his heart racing, as the entire hall laid eyes on him. He knew what they were thinking. Although Scorpius may be oblivious to a lot of things, he knew too well what everyone thought about the Malfoys. He could have sworn he heard a slight distaste in tone when the Headmistress called his name, though he was probably just imagining things.

All of a sudden, he heard whispers coming from different corners of the room, and the tension in the room could be cut with a knife.

Collecting himself, Scorpius decided he may as well get it over with. Trying to keep himself from shaking, although his heart was beating at an abnormal rate, he sat slowly onto the stood as the Headmistress placed the Sorting Hat on his head. He focused his eyes onto his lap, desperate not to catch a glimpse of the hundreds of people starting in his direction, (was it really necessary to do this in front of the whole school?)

"I know, it is a bit cruel isn't it?" the sudden voice in his head made him jump slightly, which was followed by a few sniggers.

"Ah, another Malfoy, eh? Might as well announce Slytherin right now… or maybe not?"

Scorpius continued to sit nervously, wanting this to be over as soon as possible.

"Oh no, definitely not Slytherin. Not at all," surprisingly, the looming image of his disappointed grandfather disappeared in his mind, and he felt relieved.

"A good heart, kind. Not very brave, but I suppose that isn't always required for one to do great things. No. I know exactly where to put you…"

"Hufflepuff!"

This was followed by a brief period of silence, and confused whispers, particularly from the Syltherin table. The hat was taken from his head, and he got up off the stood. Scorpius wasn't even aware of the applauds coming from the Hufflepuff table, as he was too focused on what the other students were thinking. As soon as he realised this, he smiled walking over to where the Hufflepuffs were. A tall, blonde girl stood up to shake his hand, "I'm Annie, welcome to Hufflepuff," she beamed at him. He was seated next to another boy who had been sorted, and he smiled sweetly at him.

"I'm Bradley," he introduced, "glad I'm not the only one to be sorted here!" That's when Scorpius realised that him and Bradley were indeed the only Hufflepuff's in first year so far.

"I'm Scorpius," Scorpius responded, still quite overwhelmed by the situation.

"Scorpius?," Bradley responded, both confused and impressed, "my name sounds quite dull now." he chuckled.

Scorpius looked around the Hufflepuff table, meeting eyes with other students who smiled in response. He exhaled, feeling quite relieved and calm for the first time today. He knew that he would be happy here, and he finally found somewhere where he belonged.


End file.
